AO was already significant enough to be called a true major from 83 onwards ( had wilander , mac , lendl etc ) .....

Yea I know that the AO started to gain recognition in 1983 with Lendl and Wilander etc, and then even moreso with Becker and Edber etc, but once Agassi came down for the event, and he met Sampras in the final, then in my own mind the event truely became great. Agassi would, for whatever reason, bypass the AO year after year. In 1994 he was scheduled to play in it but pulled out at the last minute which was a huge disappointment. But when he actually stepped on Melbourne soil in 1995, then for me, that's when I could say to myself "gee the AO really is a big deal".